Miserable Comforters
“Then Job answered and said: I have heard many such things; Miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.”
The story of Job is a story that is filled with many theological themes, such as God’s sovereignty, personal suffering, enduring hope, and many more. Job was a man that was righteous, blameless and upright before God and was declared by God to be one of a kind (Job 1:1,8). After God agreed to let Satan take all that Job had but not touch his life, Job suffered tremendously, losing his property and children. After, when Job was going through his darkest days, he was met by three of his friends to comfort him (Job 2:11). These friends turned out to be “miserable comforters.”
The friends who met with Job were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. These three friends probably meant Job well, attempting to offer him well-meaning advice and comfort; after all, these are men who wept for him (Job 2:12). Whether well intended or not, these men offered Job bad theology. The words of Job’s friends highlight the tendency in all of us to rush to conclusions. They insisted that Job had done something wrong, and sin was the reason why Job was experiencing such catastrophes (Job 4:7-8; 22:5). Their conclusion was that someone who suffers disasters, contracts a terminal illness, or loses financial stability must have not been doing something right. Eliphaz says “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (Job 4:7-8 NKJV). In other words, God rewards the righteous if they believe hard enough and do good, but those with weaker faith or secret sin will reap calamities.
The popular idea that “bad” happens to those of us that are sinning or don’t have enough faith is echoed through different modern systems of thought. These systems of thought are the “word of faith” movement and the prosperity heresy. This belief is also echoed from a more modern belief called Karma. Karma was adapted from a Hindu and Buddhist belief meaning action, work, deed. This refers to the “spiritual” principle of cause and effect, or in other words, the principle of karma, wherein intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths (For more, see Karma). Let us examine this belief by asking two important questions: First, who is in control of this cause and effect? And second, if the answer to the first question is God, does the God of the Bible teach us such things? The biblical answer to these two questions offers us a different perspective to the theology of the friends of Job and the belief in karma as it relates to why bad things happen to good people.
Jesus, the Comforter
When unfortunate things happen to us, we have moments when we may question “what have I done to deserve this?” and drown ourselves in guilt and depression. Sadly, in these moments, we don’t need “miserable comforters” to give us bad theology; we offer this theology to ourselves. By God’s grace, He has given us the book of Job to remind us in the moments when we wrestle with questions of why unfortunate things happen to us that we are to remain devoted to God (as Job was). As Job sits there feeling like he’s being persecuted by God and his friends, believing himself to be near death, filled with sickness that’s causing his flesh to be unrecognizable, filled with bitterness, he says “There the upright could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my judge” (Job 23:7); and “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside” (Job 23:10). Job also points us to a great Comforter who was given to us, who resurrected, who now sits at the right hand of the Father, and who has given us victory because He has overcome this world (John 16:33; 1 Corinthians 15:54-55). So many times in the midst of calamity, we doubt God’s presence, His goodness, and we miss the full picture. The book of Job teaches us to trust God in all circumstances.
Now, I understand that the question arises about the biblical idea of reaping what you sow (Galatians 6:8; James 3:18), and that God blesses the righteous (Psalms 5:12; 32:10). But allow me to give some insight to a proper understanding of this idea of “reaping and sowing.” If a person pampers his fleshly desires, feeds it, gives aid to it, if his desire is worldly increase and riches, if he neglects the council of elders and has no interest in the church, this individual will reap the consequences of these lustful desires and pursuits. A person who fills his mind with the things of the flesh, and lives to please these affections will reap the consequences. God commands us to stay away from worldly passions and concerns (1 John 2:1-16). But those who fill their minds with the things of God, contribute to their spiritual health, and surround themselves with the people of God will reap the benefits and have everlasting life.
Instead of following the examples of Job’s friends, we should find comfort in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As painful as our experiences are, we rest in knowing that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NKJV). We should understand that because sin entered the world through our first parents, Adam and Eve, that it corrupted all things and that promises of no trials and tribulations are not given to us in Scripture. Our hope and comfort is not that we won’t go through tough experiences, but that when we do, God is trustworthy and worthy of our obedience.. Our comfort should be in Jesus, that He paid the penalty for our sin and exchanged it for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:17). The reality is that we have hope and should be comforted through our understanding of who we are in Christ. Let us not be miserable comforters, but let us have the right theology, understanding the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 8:18-30:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope: because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that , but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”